There is very little produce, maybe only 50% compared to a normal year so operators - those who process and package fennel for retailers and markets - are going through a difficult time.
Marco Babbi from Caligari&Babbi in Savignano sul Rubicone (Forlì-Cesena) reports that "this is not a good moment as our clients are demanding the produce, but there isn't any. Fennel are currently being produced in Basilicata and Campania but we are harvesting half what we would normally do because of the weather."
It rained a lot in the fall during transplants, causing delays. In addition, temperatures in southern Italy have been rather low for the past month, slowing fennel growth down.
On 13th February 2019, temperatures were as low as 0°C in Basilicata. "The produce does not ripe with these temperatures and prices are higher than normal, with peaks of €2/kg wholesale."
Operators would need to stop for 10 days to respect the plant cycle but the "show must go on" and no one has the courage to really stop. "We work, albeit at a slow rhythm, to please at least part of our usual clients. I believe we will have the opposite problem in late March, when ripening will speed up."
Contacts:
Caligari & Babbi srl 
Via E. Bevilacqua, 17
Savignano su Rubicone (FC)
Tel.: (+39) 0541 942599
Fax: (+39) 0541 201919
Email: commerciale@ortofruttacaligari.com
Website: www.finocchioitaliano.com